D. Brian Nelson
(K=331) - Comment Date 9/8/2001
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Geez, what a stupid question.
Seriously, probably not. Creative people get ridiculed all the time and just keep being creative people. It might be that once they get accepted and the ridicule stops, the creativity dries up.
A Picture Too many pictures
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John Kantor
(K=1664) - Comment Date 9/8/2001
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Ridicule of a person, their work, or a persona they seem to exhibit? And when is it ridicule and when is it merely pointing out the ridiculous? (Presupposing that there is some merit to the criticism in the first place. Otherwise, it's merely irrelevent.)
I have a BA in Creative Writing. My first writing teacher was one of the biggest influences on how I approach all artistic disciiplines. I'm not sure what posts you are talking about here since I only drop by infrequently, but he was someone who literally would ridicule your work in front of the entire class - if it deserved it. He had a simple philosophy: if you were creating work that was primarily personal and you would therefore be liable to be hurt by criticism, then you shouldn't be in the class in the first place. Personal work can (and probably should) remain purely personal and only subject to your own standards. However, if you intend to be a published writer/artist, then criticism is the very first thing you need to learn how to handle - fair, unfair, incisive, or irrelevent.
My writing teacher approached our work as an editor (which he had been at one time). If we had work that he believed was publishable, he gave it an A, while anything else received less. The most telling point was that every student of his that received an A also published their work. (He also had a policy that if any work that received less than an A was published, he would change the student's grade - even years after the fact. He didn't have to do that very often.)
He usually lost 50% of his students by the drop date. The ones that were left were both serious and able to distance themselves emotionally from their work. In fact, they were able to laugh at it too when the ridiculousness was highlighted for them to see.
Like it or not, people will ascribe qualities to you based on their appreciation of your work (or your commentary). If you are hurt or embarrassed by that (even if that was the intent), then you need to first examine why it affects you so. That is the first step towards a greater awareness of the difference between your art and the craft that engenders it.
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Rick Lang
(K=970) - Comment Date 9/9/2001
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Does ridicule stifle creativity? Only if one lets it.I find that most of the better artist that I know use criticism as a motivational tool. In some ways I find artists to be a combination of arrogance and self-doubt. The self-doubt causes the pain of haveing to listen to criticism and the arrogance allows them to rise above it. If ridicule stifles creativity, maybe the problem was that there was not enough substance to defend, making the ridicule hit the mark.
As for this forum, while at first I found it very stiumlating, as of late I have found it growing very tiresome. I have found more self- agrandizing pontification, less substance and less respect for people who, (though they might disagree) share the same passion.
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Jeff Spirer
(K=1973) - Comment Date 9/9/2001
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Ridicule stifles creativity in children, and unfortunately, most children get that ridicule somewhere along the way. Younger children have rarely developed the sense of self-worth that allows them to ignore ridicule and proceed in its presence. There would be far more creativity in this world if children were allowed to explore without the rules placed on them so early in their education (at home or at institutions.)
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jnorman
(K=400) - Comment Date 9/10/2001
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when i first started shooting black and white about 25 years ago, i can clearly remember the lab person at my local shutterbug store looking over my prints with me shaking his head and saying, "mr norman, i think you should just stick to color..." fortunately, i ignored him, and for the past 15 years or so, i have made a living making LF b/w architectural photos for HABS/HAER for the collections of the library of congress. if you have any kind of vision in your head, and are one of the rare people in this world that have the chutzpah to amke something happen, do not spend 2 seconds worrying about anyone else's opinion of your work. my mom always told me "you cant please everyone" and that's the truth. IMHO, the primary thing with photography, or any art, is to develop your own vision. stay away from workshops, dont use anyone else's techniques, dont spend all your time looking at everyone else's photos. look at your own work carefully - find out what it is about your best work that makes it look right to you, and hone in on that thing and build on it. it takes time to develop a personal style, but that is what it is all about. even though i do straightforward recordation work for a living, i still have people come up to me and say they can recognize my work right off - that's one of the finest compliments i could get.
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stefan ballard
(K=32) - Comment Date 9/11/2001
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This snipped from Rick Lang: As for this forum, while at first I found it very stiumlating, as of late I have found it growing very tiresome. I have found more self- agrandizing pontification, less substance and less respect for people who, (though they might disagree) share the same passion.
Amen.
And probably pretty much describes the way I feel about most internet discussions. Which is one reason why I rarely bother to visit most internet photography discussion groups anymore...and if I do have an opinion, I rarely bother to write it. I basically feel that few online people are interested in what I THINK -- mostly online forums are people looking for others to use as punching bags. The whole thing has become so predictable and pointless that I can't even get mad about it -- I just get bored.
Considering what has happened to this forum this question seem appropriate!
I don't know what events you are referring to, here -- but, as I said, I haven't been around.
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Steven Hupp
(K=288) - Comment Date 9/11/2001
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"Listen to the fools reproach! it is a kingly title!" --William Blake
I go with Mr. Kantor. Anyone who is serious about any art form has long ago learned to disengage the ego.
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Tony Rowlett
(K=1575) - Comment Date 9/11/2001
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It's not a matter of art here nor is it a matter of ridicule nor is it a matter of ego. It's a matter of down and out rudeness, and it's stupid and childish and lame and intolerable and I only pity those who perpetrate it here!
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Todd Frederick
(K=529) - Comment Date 10/11/2001
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I sometimes think that anyone who is truly interested in photography as a fine art, and as a medium of significant visual communication should swear off using photographic internet forums forever!
Being an addictive personality as I am, I just can't do that, but, hopefully, someday, I will get out of the house to take a few photos.
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